


Sometimes You Gotta Bleed To Know (That You're Alive and Have a Soul)

by isacabral



Series: in another life you must have been mine [2]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Buffy AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-16 09:07:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14161455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isacabral/pseuds/isacabral
Summary: “Chloe, we’re the Slayers. The Chosen Two or whatever. And there’s no way in hell I’m going to let you go in there all alone.”





	1. Wellcome to the Hellmouth

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically what, in my mind, should have happened if Joss Whedon had opened himself up to the greatness that was Fuffy. The timelines are all scrunched up together so no worries if you have never watched Buffy or whatever, I just hope you enjoy this! As usual, thank you to my favorite asshole @dumbacapelapotatoes for betaing this <3

When Beca Mitchell first decided to go to Sunnydale after The Event™ happened, she went in with a clear plan in mind: go, see what all the fuss about Chloe Beale was and leave, move on to greener pastures.

 

Slaying was a lonely job anyway. No need to stick around in a city that already had its own, very well-established slayer.

 

She wasn’t expecting to stay or make friends or fall in love. And yet… that’s exactly where she found herself months later.

 

It was quite confusing.

 

* * *

 

It was approaching dusk when Beca got to Sunnydale. It was a crappy bus ride from LA but at least she managed some shut-eye and no one bothered to sit next to her so there was that.

 

She straightened her leather jacket, fixed a couple of strands that had fallen out of her bun and grabbed her backpack. There was nothing she could do for her eyeliner without a mirror, but it shouldn’t be too bad. Scowl firmly in place, the tiny brunette hopped out of the bus and looked around.

 

_Not too shabby._

 

Beca was lying, of course. As far as coast cities went, Sunnydale was your typical, anonymous, generic suburban city and the brunette frowned at the idea of staying for a few days, let alone live here. It didn’t even look as remotely dangerous as her former watcher had made it sound.

 

She rolled her eyes; this was stupid. She had a plan here and, for that, she needed to find that damn Chloe Beale. Now, if she was a teenager in a lame town itching to have some fun, what would she do?

 

“Excuse me, where’s the nearest club?”

 

* * *

 

 

Half an hour later Beca found herself walking up to the entrance of, apparently, the only nightclub in Sunnydale — _The Bronze_ , the guy at the bus stop had grumbled at her — she gave the bouncer some cash and waltzed in.

 

The surprisingly clean club had a stage, dance floor, pool table, balcony, and bar and, even though the music sort of sucked, it seemed to fit the generic vibe of the town. Most people there were dancing but, as usual, Beca kept to the background, taking everything in instead of actively participating; partly due to her slayer instincts to read the room for danger first and partly due to her innate loner tendencies.

 

Everything seemed fairly normal and Beca was almost tempted to go up at the bar and see if her fake ID would work on the hard-faced bartender when she overheard someone say:

 

“Check out Slut-O-Rama and her Disco Dave over there.”

 

Midnight blue eyes followed the girl’s line of sight and Beca spotted the energetic couple dancing wildly on the dance floor, barely keeping up with the band’s tempo. She cocked her head, narrowing her eyes at the couple, a tingly sensation trickling down her spine.

 

Looking for Chloe would have to wait; Beca had more important things to do now. She followed the couple out of the club and smirked when she saw them turning on a dark alley, the guy already transformed.

 

Her instincts had yet to fail her.

 

And as it turned out, following the vampire and his snack had its perks because as Beca was fighting off with him she noticed out of the corner of her eye a redhead approach with a stake in hand, stopping dead in her tracks as she noticed Beca handling the situation.

 

“Can I borrow that?” she huffed out, smirking at the bewildered expression on who must be Chloe’s face.

 

Not waiting for an answer, Beca simply ducked as the vampire tried to punch her, hooking her hand on his shoulder, turning him around and pushing him back against the alley’s wall. She raised the stake and jammed it cleanly into his chest, jerking back out as the vampire instantly crumbled into ashes.

 

Dusting herself, Beca noticed Chloe still lingering around with a look she could only describe as confused amazement on her admittedly very aesthetically pleasing face. If _she_ was the so-called original slayer everyone seems to go on and on about, Beca so far wasn’t very impressed.

 

* * *

 

Everything turned to shit, of course, once Beca realized that Kakistos had followed her to Sunnydale, hellbent on killing her just like he had done with her Watcher and mother, exposing all her darkest secrets before these new people she was pretty sure she didn’t like.

 

She liked them even less when they confronted her about her problems.

 

“We're not happy to see old friends, are we?” Chloe asked. “What'd he do to you?”

 

“It’s about what I did to him, all right?” Beca huffed, not missing a beat in grabbing her bag and shoving her stuff inside.

 

“And what exactly was that, Beca?”

 

“It’s none of your damn business, Beale,” Beca spat out. “Now get out of my way. This is my problem and I’ll handle it.”

 

“Yeah. You're a real badass when it comes to packing,” Chloe mocked her and Beca fixed her with a hard glare. “What about dealing with your actual problems, huh? Or are you just gonna dump this one on me and move on?”

 

Beca stopped her packing and walked over to Chloe, pointing a finger at the redhead, voice dangerously low with anger. “You don't know me, okay? You don't know what I've been through! I'll take care of this, now leave me the hell alone!”

 

“Like you took care of your Watcher?”

 

Beca didn’t even answer her, just went back to her bed and shouldered her bag, muscles rigid. She owed these people nothing.

 

“He killed her, didn’t he?” Chloe’s soft, caring voice struck a chord inside Beca, making the tiny brunette tighten her hold on her bag.

 

“There is not a word for what he did to her. Or to my mother,” she conceded, voice still cold. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go.”

 

“Beca, you run, he runs after you,” Chloe tried and stop her when there was a knock on the door.

 

“Hence why I’m getting the head start here, Red.” Beca carelessly opened the door and came face to face with her worst nightmare.

 

Kakistos.

 

“Slayer,” the vampire smiled menacingly.

 

* * *

 

After they had managed to kill him — with a lot of fighting and screaming and maybe a little bit of crying involved. All followed up by a very stern talk with Chloe’s Watcher, Aubrey — Beca found out that her crappy fake ID was good enough to get her a drink at that lame nightclub.

 

Or maybe it was her scowl and _don't-mess-with-me_ attitude. Whatever it was, she didn't care.

 

Now that Beca had no place to run and nothing to run away from anymore, she was a bit at a loss with what to do with herself.

 

“Hey.”

 

Of course. She should have skipped town when she got the chance because of-fucking-course Chloe Beale, Slayer star, would come and find her when all she wanted to do was drink and brood.

 

Beca noted her presence with a tilt of a head but said nothing, opting to just drink out of the bottle she was holding and hoping Chloe would just take the hint and leave. Which of course didn’t happen.

 

“You’re staying?” the redhead said instead, conversationally, taking the seat next to her and waving the bartender over for her own drink.

 

“Seems like it,” Beca shrugged it off, still not bothering to look.

 

Chloe nodded and, surprisingly, didn’t say anything else, making Beca sigh and, finally, turn to look at her. She didn’t know why but she felt like she should say something.

 

“I... I was _there_ when he killed my Watcher,” Beca started, surprising even herself with what she was saying. “And I saw what he did to her, what he did to my... To my _mother_ ,” she choked out, blinking away her tears and clearing her throat. “What he was gonna do to me. I tried to stop him, but I... I couldn't. And I ran.”

 

“Becs, the first rule of slaying: don’t die. I’m saying this from personal experience,” Chloe smiled and winked at her and Beca had to bite her lip to prevent a small smile to come out. “You did the right thing. Okay? You didn’t die.”

 

“Sometimes I wish I did,” Beca mumbled around her drink, trying to drown herself in beer and not her tears.

 

There was a beat of silence in their conversation, over the loud, crappy music of the club.

 

“Well,” Chloe sighed, smiling at the bartender and grabbing her own drink. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

 

* * *

 

"You know what, Becs?” Chloe slurred, tipsy since she kept stealing sips of Beca’s beer all night. “I have a feeling we're gonna be fast friends.”

 

“Yeah?” Beca smirked, tipsy too but holding her liquor better. “Well, you saved my life, so…”

 

Chloe only giggled and that was more intoxicating than any drink Beca could consume.

 

* * *

 

Somehow, between late night patrols, narrowly escaping death — again — at something called a “SlayerFest” but attending the Homecoming Dance anyway as Chloe’s impromptu date (“Something you’ll learn here in Sunnydale, Becs,” the redhead told her as she adjusted the corsage on her wrist, ignoring Beca’s grumbles. “If you let near-death-experiences prevent you from having a normal life, you’ll never have one.”) and dealing with the fallouts of cursed band candies — Beca was still having a hard time believing Aubrey, of all people, had a dark past — Beca realized that, in fact, she and Chloe had become _friends_.

 

That, the brunette also found out, came with the lovely bonus of a certified genius witch Stacie Conrad; the less lovely bonus of a movie buff and all-out nerd Jesse Swanson and the obvious charge of a pain-in-the-ass Watcher in the form of Aubrey Posen.

 

Oh, and homemade cooking from Mrs. Beale. Beca clearly wasn’t going to complain about _that._

 

The brunette tried, so hard, not to think about what it meant that Chloe came over to her crappy hotel room with the same frequency Beca went over to the redhead’s house; or the fact she’s been unofficially put in charge of coming up with playlists for all types of situations after Stacie and Chloe started gushing about her taste in music; or the fact that she’s still _here_ , in this crappy town, creating roots or whatever with all these stupid friends and the odd job at the Bronze she picked up to keep her afloat financially.

 

Beca outright ignored the fact she was more hurt about Chloe hiding from her that her ex-boyfriend was back in town over the fact that her new assigned Watcher was a psychopath who tried to kill her.

 

She should have known this getting attached thing would come bite her in the ass sooner rather than later.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, mister DJ.”

 

Beca looked up from where she was roughly plugging in some outdated DJ equipment on the Bronze’s speakers to see Stacie’s green eyes peeking curiously at her.

 

“Hey,” she said briefly, turning her attention back to the equipment.

 

Beca heard Stacie sigh and braced herself for what was coming. She’d been MIA ever since they had their little… altercation at Tom’s place earlier. Beca’s face was still stinging a little bit from Chloe’s punches and the brunette was sure the redhead’s was the same because of her.

 

Excuse her for wanting some alone time after almost getting killed by the person that was supposed to protect her and finding out the girl she was crushing on was hiding her ex-boyfriend.

 

“I’m fine,” the brunette grumbled.

 

“Look, Beca, the whole Tom thing is weird, okay? None of us were ever good about dealing with it,” Stacie continued. “Not Jesse, not me, not even Aubrey. Chloe is another thing altogether.”

 

“Stacie,” Beca huffed. “I said it’s fine. You don’t owe me an explanation.”

 

“I know we don’t _owe_ you anything, shortstack,” Stacie’s tone was pleading, making Beca turn her full attention to the witch. “I’m just saying that… it’s complicated. And, things have changed.”

 

“Yeah,” Beca said sarcastically. “Tom’s not evil anymore.”

 

Stacie narrowed her eyes at her, but Beca’s scowl didn’t diminish. “I was here the first time he was around, you know,” the tall genius said huffily. “And I’m not saying _he’s_ the one who changed.”

 

With that, she left, leaving Beca to wonder what the hell was that supposed to mean all by herself.

 

* * *

 

Beca had managed to avoid Chloe and the rest of her scooby gang for another whole day before bumping into the redhead at a late-night patrol. She thought the alone time would have done her some good but instead, it only served to make her even angrier and confused.

 

The brunette stopped short as she unexpectedly ran into Chloe. Of course, that at a city with twelve fucking cemeteries within its limits, she ended up bumping into the _one_ person she was actively trying to avoid.

 

It was just her goddamn luck.

 

She could tell Chloe was just as surprised as she was and neither said anything for a moment until the redhead broke the silence.

 

“Becs,” she sighed and hearing the nickname made Beca’s insides twist unpleasantly. “What are you doing here?”

 

“It’s called patrolling, Red,” the brunette answered sarcastically. “It’s what we’re supposed to do, isn’t it?”

 

She noticed Chloe flinch at her harsh reply and held her stake tighter, trying to stop her twitching hand from reaching out and trying to comfort her.

 

“How are you?” the redhead tried again but all Beca saw was red and not in a good way.

 

“How am I? How _am_ I? _Now_ you wanna know?” she scoffed. “I’m fine, Chloe. Five-by-five or whatever. You can go back to smooching your boyfriend now while I try and pick up your slack.”

 

The concern in Chloe’s bright blue eyes quickly turned into fiery anger as she zeroed in the tiny brunette.

 

“Excuse me?!” she was the one with the angry reply now. “What the hell is that supposed to mean, Beca?”

 

“Nothing,” Beca’s posture was tense as she grumbled and tried to physically walk away from their confrontation. “Forget it. I’m out of here.”

 

“Oh, so you’re just gonna leave now?”

 

“One of us would eventually have to, Chloe, it might as well be me and—duck!”

 

Beca shoved Chloe out of the way just as a vampire swung at them, but she ducked it and punched him in the gut. Chloe, catching up, turned around and backhand punched another vampire in the face followed up with an elbow to his gut.

 

Beca and Chloe both rolled onto their backs, side by side, each with a vampire on top of them. Chloe backhand punched her attacker while Beca struggled to get control over hers. Chloe's vampire tried to punch her, but she redirected his arm to hit the ground next to her. Chloe was still on her back while her assailant was now standing over her, throwing punches down at her. Beca log rolled away from them, taking her attacker with her.

 

Beca punched her vampire in the stomach and took aim with her stake. Chloe shoved hers against Beca's, and they ended up back to back. The Slayers both plunged their stakes violently into their respective demons simultaneously, causing them both to explode into ashes.

 

They’re both breathing heavily, covered in dust when Chloe broke the silence again.

 

“So, you’re gonna flee the town because you’re jealous of Tom?”

 

* * *

 

“... It’s just that everything is changing so fast and I’m putting all this pressure on myself, you know? It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” Chloe sighed heavily, sounding very tired as she leaned against her windowsill.

 

After the fight, both girls had let off enough steam to have a decent conversation, so Chloe dragged Beca by the hand back to her house until they had both climbed up to the roof and sat side by side against Chloe’s bedroom window.

 

“It wasn’t supposed to be like what?” Beca asked gently, looking expectantly at the struggling redhead.

 

“Like _this_ ,” the redhead gestured vaguely towards the night. “I _just_ got my life back, you know? After last year… Everything was going back to normal. Well, as normal as it could be,” she frowned. “I was back to dating and shopping and hanging out with my friends and going to school and saving the world from unspeakable demons. But then…”

 

“Then I showed up,” Beca said, looking down and twisting her hands together, trying to hide her sorrow.

 

“No, Becs, no,” Chloe scooted over until they’re side by side, shoulders touching, and she reached out to hold Beca’s fidgety hands. “I’ll admit, I wasn’t immediately… _taken_ with you like everybody else was. I think the only person who disliked you more than I did was Aubrey,” both girls chuckled but Beca was still avoiding eye contact. “But you were never the one holding my life back. You’re the one helping me move forward.”

 

At that, Beca looked over to Chloe’s face, a faint blush covering her cheeks. She noticed the redhead blushing too, but smiling, and allowed a tiny smile to grace her features as well.

 

“I’m really glad I came here, you know?” the brunette ended up admitting. “I thought I could do it by myself, this whole slaying on the run thing. But as it turns out… I really like the way things are now.”

 

“I really like the way things are now too,” Chloe’s smile got bigger and she intertwined their fingers together. “And since we’re on this sharing mode, there’s something else I’d like to tell you.”

 

“Yeah?” Beca smirked. “What is it, Red?”

 

Beca’s wind got knocked out of her as Chloe straddled her and softly pressed her lips against the brunette’s. She gasped, closing her eyes, hands tentatively coming up to rest on the redhead’s waist and, _finally,_ reciprocating the kiss as well.

 

“I really like you too,” Chloe sighed against her face, resting her forehead against Beca’s.

 

Beca’s full on smile made their teeth clink together in their follow-up kisses.

 

* * *

 

Sometimes, more times than they care to count, Beca and Chloe use patrolling as an excuse for angry make-out sessions.


	2. Birthday Adventures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little change of scenery with Chloe's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! I think this is it from the Slayer girlfriends.

It was a chilly afternoon at Weatherly Park where, surprisingly, Beca had suggested she and Chloe had a picnic. The redhead was discovering each day exactly how sweet the brunette was underneath her sarcastic façade and pounds of eyeliner and realizing that it was very easy to let herself fall for the charming Slayer.

 

Beca was strumming absentmindedly a guitar — that she had, apparently, won from Jesse after he bet it on a pool game at the Bronze — and Chloe thought she was being very sneaky with her admiring. The brunette was just so… mesmerizing. But clearly she wasn’t.

 

“What you’re looking at, weirdo?” Beca asked, a small smile gracing her features as she turned to look at the redhead.

 

“You,” Chloe shrugged, not minding at all getting caught. “You’re so beautiful.”

 

“Shut up,” Beca mumbled, a fierce blush taking over her cheeks.

 

“I’m sorry,” Chloe giggled. “It’s just that we’ve never hung out in the afternoon like this, you know? Demon free. And this light, you just look…” she angled her fingers at the brunette, wishing she had a camera in hand to capture the moment. “absolutely disgusting.”

 

“Oh, my God,” Beca laughed. “You’re such an ass!”

 

Their laughter died down after a short while and Beca set the guitar down, coming to sit nearer Chloe. The redhead took the situation to her advantage and cuddled closer to the brunette, both leaning against the tree that was giving them shade. She sighed contentedly. She could get used to this.

 

Chloe sensed more than saw Beca starting to fidget next to her, awkwardly clearing her throat before saying, “Uhm, Chlo? Am I gonna see you this weeked?”

 

Chloe frowned before realization dawned on her.

 

“Oh,” the redhead said. “Right. Birthday. Uh, I do actually have a thing planned.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Chloe almost cracked a smile at Beca’s attempt to sound aloof.

 

“A thing, right. Like... a date?” Beca asked.

 

“Nice attempt at casual,” Chloe snickered, earning herself a light shove, but no smile; Beca was still frowning. “Actually, I do have a date. Older man. Very handsome. He likes it when I call him 'Daddy'.”

 

“Huh, your father,” Beca’s tentative smile turned into frowning again. “It _is_ your father, right?”

 

“Yes, Becs, it’s my dad,” Chloe nodded, smiling. “He’s taking me to the ice show. Which should be big fun, I could use some of that.”

 

Beca nodded and they settled back into their quiet little bubble. It wouldn’t last for long, Chloe knew, but for now, it felt nice.

 

//

 

Chloe was sitting at a table at the school’s library while Aubrey dangled a pink crystal in front of her. The redhead started playing with a long, thin, translucent one as her Watcher adjusted the rather large collection of crystals of various colors, shapes and sizes in front of them.

 

“This one?” the blonde asked, gesturing to the pink crystal.

  
  
“Amethyst.” Chloe answered promptly, nodding for emphasis.

  
  
“Used for?”

 

“Breath mints?” the redhead smiled cheekily, looking up to Aubrey.

  
  
“Charm bags, money spells, and for cleansing one's aura,” Aubrey replied exasperatedly, green eyes fixing the Slayer with a stern look.

  
  
“Okay, so how do you know if one's aura's dirty? Somebody comes by with a finger and writes 'wash me' on it?”

 

Aubrey sighed tiredly, rubbing her temples before propping her arms on the table and leaning towards Chloe.

 

“Chloe, I'm aware of your... _distaste_ for studying vibratory stones, but since it is part of your training, I would appreciate your glib-free attention.”

 

Chloe resisted the urge of rolling her eyes; she loved Aubrey like one would a wise older sister and her insistence on using such a pompous tone was as amusing as it was exasperating.

 

“Sorry, Bree,” the redhead sighed. “It's just that Beca’s still recovering from being almost burned at the stake because of those awful fairytales, so I feel like somebody should be helping her with patrolling.”

  
  
“Well, since your girlfriend is not interested in proper training, I must rely on you to keep up with yours,” the blonde replied, selecting another crystal and holding it up.

  
  
“I hate being the good one,” Chloe mumbled. “And she’s not my girlfriend!”

 

_Yet._

  
  
“Sure,” Aubrey cracked her first smile since Chloe got there. “You’ll be out of here soon enough. Why so anxious?”

  
  
“I guess it…” Chloe started thinking about all the non-patrolling activities her and Beca have been up to lately and felt herself blushing. “I just have some... energy to burn.”

  
  
“Okay,” Aubrey narrowed her eyes at her, clearly not convinced, but letting it go. “But, for the present,” she settled a large blue crystal in front of Chloe. “If it's not _entirely_ beyond your capabilities, try to concentrate.”

  
  
Chloe sighed, not holding her eye roll this time, and stared into the crystal.

 

//

 

Chloe was supposed to wait for Beca for their late night patrol/make out session date but the brunette was over half an hour late so she thought there’d be no harm in getting things started on her own. The sooner they got over their Slayer duties, the sooner they could move on to… _other_ activities.

 

What Chloe wasn’t expecting, however, was for things to go as bad as they did.

 

“Dude, what the hell was that?” Beca asked as she helped Chloe get back on her feet.

 

The redhead had almost gotten herself killed with her own weapon by a common vampire and she probably would have been seriously hurt if Beca hadn’t shown up.

 

“I don’t know!” Chloe replied anxiously. “One minute I’m fine, slaying and kicking ass, the next I’m getting dizzy and almost getting myself killed!”

  
“Woah, woah, take the dramatics down a notch, will ya?”

 

“I almost got _killed_ , Beca! _With my own stake!_ ”

 

“You almost get killed on a daily basis, Chlo!” Beca’s reply was also anxious, not helping Chloe’s situation at all. “What’s the big deal about this one?”

 

“You’re not getting it, Beca!” Chloe shouted. She turned storming away from Beca, down the narrow lane. “I don’t get my ass handed to me like that. Ever! Certainly not by some random jackass. I’m better than this.”

 

“I’m not saying that you’re not better than that, Chloe, I’m just…”

 

“What, you’re just what, Beca?” Chloe interrupted the other girl, still pissed at being dismissed like that.

 

“Is there anything I can say right now that won’t make you even angrier at me?” Beca asked meekly, looking a bit like a lost puppy.

 

Chloe would have thought it was cute if she wasn’t so upset. Instead, she just rolled her eyes and huffed, turning back on her feet to go back home.

 

“Where are you going?” she heard the brunette calling out but didn’t bothered to turn back an answer.

 

“Home!” she angrily shouted back. “And I don’t need a babysitter!”

 

Apparently, that couldn’t keep Beca from following her home regardless, the brunette not even bothering with being stealthy about it; Chloe couldn’t decide if she was mad or happy about it.

 

//

 

Chloe was standing by library table, concentrating on a target she’d set up against the stairs’ railing, as Aubrey came into the library holding a briefcase and a cup of coffee in time to see the redhead raise a knife, throw it, only to have it glance it off of the target, clicking loudly as it hit the floor.

 

“Bit early in the day, Chlo,” the blonde hummed, sipping her coffee.

 

“Aubrey,” Chloe frowned. “Something’s wrong.”

 

“Wrong?” Aubrey asked, raising her eyebrows in a silent question as she spotted the target with a few knives stuck awkwardly into it, none of them anywhere near the center. “Maybe you should stop doing that,” the blonde stressed out as Chloe threw another knife and some kind of glass broke behind the target.

 

“On top of that,” the redhead glared at the target as if it was the one to fault for what was happening, “I got a bad case of the dizzies last night and almost let a vamp stake me. With my own stake!” Chloe stressed out, giving off some crazy nervous energy. “Beca didn’t believe me when I told her something was off, you have to!”

 

Aubrey simply sipped her coffee again as she watched Chloe angrily throw another knife that flew wildly past the target.

 

“I’m way off my game,” the redhead continued, turning to her Watcher with crazy eyes to match her crazy anxiety. “ _Way_ off. My game’s left the country. It’s in sunny Copenhagen!” she cried out, on the verge of hyperventilating. “Aubrey, what the hell is going on?”

 

“Well, maybe you have the flu or something?” Aubrey  suggested, taking a seat on the table and sipping her coffee.

 

“No. No, no, no, I can’t be sick, Bree!” Chloe started to pace nervously. “My dad's coming to take me to the ice show. A show performed on ice! We do it every year for my birthday, you know that!” the redhead threaded her fingers through her locks, pulling at her scalp a little. “If I cancel, it's gonna break his heart.”

 

“Chloe, just take it easy for the next forty-eight hours or something, okay? Let Beca do the patrolling, rest up. You’ll feel better, I’m sure,” Aubrey tried to calm the Slayer, finishing off her coffee.

 

She got up and took her briefcase, striding back to her office as Chloe took another a couple of more knives, rolling back her shoulders, a steely expression on her face.

 

“No, no. What I need is to spend a little more time practicing,” she nodded decisively, throwing one of the knives and breaking another lamp. “I’m leaving!”

 

“Thank you!”

 

//

 

“An ice show? A show performed on ice,” Jesse said, sipping on his Capri Sun. “And how old are we again?”

  
  
Stacie sent him a hard, judgy glare, that went from his juice pouch to his boyish face, making him blush. “I went to Snoopy On Ice when I was little. My dad took me backstage and I got so scared I threw up on Woodstock.”

  
  
“Look, I know you guys think it's just a big, dumb, girlie thing, but it's not, okay?” Chloe said defensively. “I mean, a lot of those skaters are Olympic medal winners. And every year my dad buys me cotton candy and one of those souvenir programs that has all the pictures, and…” the redhead stopped, looking sheepish, but smiling. “Okay, it's a big, dumb, girlie thing, but I love it!”

  
  
“It's not so girlie. Ice is cool!” Benji said, trying to appease. "It's water, but it's not.”

 

Chloe looked at him with a fond smile.

  
  
“I think it's sweet you and your dad have a tradition, Chlo,” Stacie said, offering her some pita chips. “Especially now that he's not around so much. Lay low on the caramel corn, though, if you go backstage.”

  
  
Chloe nodded in agreement, taking the offered chips.

  
  
“We're still talking party, right?” Jesse asked eagerly.

  
“I dunno,” Chloe shrugged. “I think it might be time to put parties in my honor temporarily on hold. They tend to go badly,” she received a very blank stare from Jesse, prompting her to add. “Monsters crash. People die.”

  
  
“Sorry, babe, but I actually agree with Jesse on this one!” Stacie said. “Eighteen is a _big_ one. I mean, you can vote now! You can be drafted,” the tall brunette smirked. “You can vote _not_ to be drafted.”

  
  
Chloe laughed, but stated her ground. “I think I'll choose to celebrate this one with quiet reflection.”

  
  
“Where is it written that quiet reflection can't be combined with cake and funny hats?”

 

//

 

When Chloe gets home and discovers that her dad won’t be able to make it to their ice show, she decided it’s for the best. Maybe a quiet birthday really was what she needed after all.

 

//

 

Chloe was still a bit crestfallen when she arrived at the library the next day, only to find Aubrey laying down more crystals on the table and sighing heavily.

 

“Crystals again?”

 

“Yes,” Aubrey nodded dutifully. “I’m sorry, Chloe, but this is a very important part of your training. Slayer duties aren’t all about relying on your strength. Sometimes, all you’ll have at your disposal will be your brain and wit.”

 

The redhead didn’t have it in her to argue so she just sat silently at the table and looked over at the blue crystal that her Watcher had again selected.

 

“Didn’t we do this one already?” she frowned.

 

“Yes, but this is a different exercise,” Aubrey said. “Now, please, concentrate and look for the flaw at its center.”

 

Chloe gave in and concentrated on the crystal as Aubrey leaned against the table, waiting. At its center there was a small stake-shaped flaw in an otherwise nearly clear blue crystal. The redhead never reacted as she slowly fell into a trance. Aubrey leaned over further and looked into her face.

 

“Chlo? Chloe?”

 

Still caught up in the crystal-induced trance, Chloe remained very still as Aubrey pulled a small case from her briefcase, set it on the table and opened it; using a hypodermic needle, a test tube full of clear yellow liquid and an alcohol-soaked gauze pad inside, the blonde plunged the needle right above Chloe’s elbow and the redhead never even stirred.

 

After cleaning everything, Aubrey sat back on the table, trying to be casual, and waved her hand between Chloe and the crystal, thus breaking the redhead’s trance and making her look up at her.

  
  
“Oh, I'm sorry,” Chloe rubbed her temple. “Did I zone out on you? It's just... I'm nursing that flu bug, after all.”

  
  
“Yeah,” Aubrey said softly. “It's best to take care of that. Perhaps we should, uhm…”

 

“...call it a night?” Chloe shrugged hopefully. “Yeah, that's a good idea. Thanks, Bree,” she sighed gratefully once the blonde agreed.   


Chloe got up weakly and groaned as she walks out of the library, not hearing as Aubrey somberly wished her a good night.

 

//

 

Chloe doesn’t know what to do with herself when she realizes she’s _actually_ losing her strength; she’s not able to help Benji open tightly closed jam jars anymore or stand up to the bullies picking on Jessica and Ashley or even open the heavy gym doors by herself. Something was clearly wrong and panic was taking over her, especially with Aubrey’s aloof attitude.

 

“You're not getting the big picture here, Bree!” the redhead said desperately. “I-I have _no_ strength. I have _no_ coordination. I throw knives like…”

  
  
“A girl?” the blonde completed looking utterly calm.

  
  
“Like I'm not the Slayer,” Chloe finished, hurt and confused by her Watcher’s response.

 

“Chloe, I assure you that, in given time, we’ll get to the bottom of this, okay? Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.”

 

“Promise me,” Chloe demanded, still frowning.

 

“I give you my word,” Aubrey gave her a half smile and turned around, leaving the redhead all alone to mope and worry.

 

Since Aubrey’s words wouldn’t give her any answers, Chloe decided to hold a research party at the library after school hours so they could help the blonde look and maybe find some conclusions.

 

“Aha!” Stacie exclaimed triumphantly. “A curse on Slayers.”

  
  
Chloe and Beca exchanged skeptic looks.

  
  
“Oh, no. Wait,” the brunette deflated. “It's lawyers.”

 

“Why would anyone wanna curse lawyers?” Benji frowned, looking up from his book.

 

“Why anyone _wouldn’t?_ ” Jesse counterbacked, not looking up from his. “You know what? Maybe we're on the wrong track with this whole spell/curse thing. Maybe what we should be looking for is something like, I don’t know, a Slayer kryptonite,” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

 

Chloe, Beca _and_ Stacie gave him a blank stare this time, Benji being the only one to dignify his suggestion with a response.

 

“Faulty metaphor,” the werewolf said. “Kryptonite kills.”

 

“You're assuming I meant the green kryptonite. I was referring, of course, to the red kryptonite, which drains Superman of his powers.”

  
  
Benji paused for a moment before replying. “Wrong. The _gold_ kryptonite's the power-sucker. The red kryptonite mutates Superman into some sort of weird…”

 

“Seriously?” Beca interrupted them impatiently. “A little bit of reality, maybe? Is this too much to ask?”

 

“Sorry,” the boys said sheepishly, looking apologetically over to Chloe.

 

The redhead simply rolled her eyes and got up from the table. She needed to know what was wrong with her and she needed to know it sooner rather than later. She was really trying to act cool about this whole situation but she knew she was failing miserably when Aubrey came into the library without any news and Stacie gave her a pitiful look.

 

//

 

Chloe knew this had really taken its toll on her when her and Beca were sitting side by side on the main cemetery’s wall, their latest chilling place after a late night patrol.

 

“Oh hey,” the brunette said, grabbing something off her jacket. “I got you something.”

 

“Becs, you didn't have to,” Chloe said softly, with a watery smile, accepting the neatly wrapped package, opening up to reveal a drive that, according to its label, contained ‘songs about chlo’.

 

“I know it's lame,” Beca rubbed her nose, clearly self-conscious, rambling in what Chloe assumed was an attempt to hide her blush. “And I'm saving up some cash to take you out on an _actual_ date, but…”

 

Chloe stopped the admittedly adorable ramble by pressing her lips on the brunette’s soft ones. “I love it.”

 

“Yeah?” midnight blue eyes fluttered open and looked straight into the redhead’s soul, making her feel completely naked. “Don't take this the wrong way but you don't look too excited about it.”

 

“I'm sorry,” Chloe sighed, placing her gift safely on her jacket inside pocket before turning back to Beca. “It's just that… with whatever this is messing all of my powers, maybe even taking them away for good, I don't know. It's just freaking me out a little.”

 

“You know that's completely normal, right?” the brunette tried to comfort her, reaching out to gently rub between her shoulder blades.

 

“Beca, what if I have lost my powers?” Chloe voiced her main concern, eyes watering and voice wavering.

 

“You lived a long time without them, Chlo, you could do it again.”

 

“I guess,” the redhead shrugged, trying to appear unaffected, failing miserably. “But what if I can't? I've seen too much, Becs. I know what goes bump in the night. Not being able to fight it…” Chloe’s voice faltered again and this time some tears managed to escape and started streaming down her face softly. “What if I just hide under my bed, all scared and helpless? What if I just become pathetic? Or, or, or I hang out at the old Slayer's home, talking people's ears off about my glory days, showing them Mr. Pointy, the stake I had bronzed?”

 

“Chloe,” Beca smiled at her, wiping her tears. “You could never be helpless or boring, no matter how hard you try.”

 

“Oh yeah? How do you know that?” the redhead asked petulantly.

 

“Because I came to Sunnydale to meet the infamous Slayer,” Beca said, taking a hold of Chloe’s hand and intertwining their fingers, prompting her to look at the brunette. “You know, the one who died, passed on the power to me, only to come back to life and screw up the Council’s line.”

 

“Well, technically, Denise was the one who died and gave _her_ power to you, so…”

 

“Whatever,” Beca rolled her eyes and Chloe smiled just a little bit. “I came to meet the Slayer. I stayed because of _you_ ,” she finished softly and Chloe could feel fresh tears burning in her eyes.

 

“Why?” she asked trying to get a hold of her emotions.

 

“‘Cause I could see your heart. You hold it before you for everyone to see and I worry that it'll be bruised or torn but you don't seem to care. You're fearless in more ways than just your physical strength, Chlo,” Beca said, once again gently wiping away Chloe’s tears. “And that's why I'm not afraid to give _my_ heart to you, you know... for safekeeping.”

 

Chloe’s eyes widened, heart beating wildly in her chest. Was that…?

 

“I love you too, Becs.”

 

//

 

Chloe was walking back home alone, after denying — much more softly this time — Beca’s offer of walking with her when it happened.

 

She got attacked by a huge vampire with an obscene, crazy smile. He held onto her by the arms while the redhead struggled to pull away.  


This time Chloe was sure she would have ended up fifty feet under ground had Beca not ignored her request and followed her home anyway and if Aubrey hadn’t shown up with her car and picked them up from the side of the road once they had run away.

 

//

 

When they got to the library, Beca went to the supply cabinet to get a blanket and some water for Chloe, after sitting her down at table and ordering her to stay. The brunette was limping and had a nasty bruise on her cheekbone, but the redhead knew that with slayer powers came a very handy speed healing ability.

 

Chloe herself wasn’t so lucky.

 

“When I hit him, it felt like my arm was broken, it hurt so much,” she whimpered as Beca softly laid the blanket over her shoulders. “I can't be just a person. I can't be helpless like that. Aubrey, please, we have to figure out what's happening to me.”

  
  
The blonde went into her office and brought back out a briefcase, opening it and pulling out a case with a syringe. She opened it, let out a deep sigh and set it in front of her.

 

“It's an organic compound... of muscle relaxants and adrenal suppressers.” Aubrey said in a shaky tone. “The effect is temporary. You'll be yourself again in a few days.”

 

“ _You?_ ” Chloe whispered, appalled, as she reached out to touch the tube of golden liquid.

 

“It’s a test, Chloe,” Aubrey pleaded, voice still shaky.

 

For the first time since they met, the blonde started pacing and rambling, a brand new person appearing before Chloe’s eyes, the only thing keeping her grounded was the warm touch emanating from Beca’s unwavering hand on her shoulder.

 

“It's given to the Slayer once she... uh, well, _if_ she reaches her eighteenth birthday,” Aubrey gulped, still avoiding eye contact with the redhead. “The Slayer is disabled and then entrapped with a vampire foe whom she must defeat in order to pass the test,” the blonde rushed out. “The vampire you were to face… has escaped,” the blonde’s face, panic stricken, turned an odd shade of green, as if she was sick. “His name is Zackary Kralik. As a mortal, he murdered and tortured more than a dozen women before he was committed to an asylum for the criminally insane. When a vamp…”

 

Chloe stood up abruptly, throwing the syringe case at her in anger, but missed, hitting the wall just behind the Watcher.

 

“You fucking bitch!” the redhead exploded, angrily sobbing. “All this time, you saw what it was doing to me. All this time, and you didn't say a word!”

 

“I wanted to,” Aubrey sobbed too, pleadingly.

 

“Liar!” Chloe screeched and got stopped from moving forward to punch Aubrey by Beca’s hand firmly holding her back.

 

“Chloe…” the brunette said softly, trying to calm her.

 

“I really wanted to, Chlo, “Aubrey continued. “But in matters of tradition and protocol, I must answer to the Council.”

  
  
Chloe ran her hands through her hair in disbelief of her betrayal.

  
  
“My role in this... was very specific. I was to administer the injections and to direct you to the old boarding house on Prescott Lane.”

  
  
“I can't... I can't hear this,” the redhead shook her head in denial, crying.

  
  
“Chloe, please,” Aubrey pleaded again but Chloe wouldn’t give her a chance.

  
  
“Who _are_ you?” she whispered, lowering her hands. “How could you do this to me?”

 

“Chloe,” Beca tried again. “I think it’s better if we go home, rest, and come back with a fresh set of mind, okay? Come on.”

 

“You guys need to listen to me,” Aubrey stressed out, trying to reach out for Chloe but stopping at both girls’ deadly looks. “Because I’ve told you, the test is invalidated. You’ll be safe now, I promise you, Chloe. I only need Beca’s help to deal back with Kralik and…”

 

“You stuck a needle in me!” Chloe interrupted the blonde, sobbing. “You poisoned me!”

 

“Chloe…”

 

Behind them, the library doors opened and Stacie walked in, several books in hand.

 

“Bree, I think I found something but it can’t be…” the tall witch stopped as she took in the scene in front of her. “What’s going on?”

 

“Chloe…” Aubrey tried again.

 

“Stace,” Chloe said, interrupting the blonde again. “Can you drive Beca and I back home?”

 

“Sure,” Stacie agreed promptly, albeit still confused.

 

“We’ll fill you in on the way,” Beca whispered to her as they walked through the door, since Chloe didn’t bothered with an explanation.

 

Everything was just hurting.

 

//

 

“I’ve read about it, that’s what I was going in to ask Aubrey about,” Stacie said, baffled, as she drove to Chloe’s house. “I read about the test but I never thought she’d go through with it.”

 

“Are you kidding me?” Beca shot back. “That woman is a drill sergeant. She lives for rules and traditions. _Of course_ she’d do it,” she winced as she looked over to Chloe. “Sorry, babe.”

 

“No, you’re right,” Chloe said emotionless. “Why would she care, right? Rules and traditions are much more important,” her voice was shaky. “Much more important than me,” she rushed out of the car as soon as Stacie pulled up at her house, needing a moment to compose herself.

 

She didn’t get one, though.

 

Chloe opened the door and came in. She saw the bouquet of huge, pretty “I’m-sorry-I’m-breaking-your-heart” flowers from her father still on the island and pushed it to the end to let it drop into the wastebasket. The redhead walked through the dining room and saw the front door standing open. Fear crippled down her spine as she walked over and saw a polaroid picture taped to the door. She strode over to it and pulled it down just as Beca and Stacie caught up. It showed her mother with Kralik behind her holding her by the neck. She turned the picture over, on the back was written "come".

 

And now it was personal.

 

//

 

“Chloe, you can’t go there by yourself, it’s not safe!” Stacie tried pleading with her friend as she watched the redhead pull a knife and several stakes from her trunk and drop them into the heavy leather bag opened on her bed.

 

“I have to, Stacie!” Chloe stressed out as she walked over to her desk, opening the top left drawers and grabbing several bottles of holy water. “That’s not just any vamp, you didn’t hear Aubrey talking about him… He’s insane,” she shoved the bottles inside her overall pockets. “He targets women. And he has my _mom_.”

 

“All the more reason you shouldn’t go there by yourself!” the tall witch cried out.

 

“She’s not going to,” Beca said seriously from the corner she was standing on. “I’m going too.”

 

“Beca, don’t,” Chloe turned to the small brunette.

 

“Don’t what, Chloe?” the brunette asked irritated.

 

“I need you here! There’s still an accomplice on the loose and if something happens…”

 

“Stacie and Aubrey can take care of that!” Beca barked and out of the corner of her eye the redhead saw Stacie agreeing. “You said so yourself, Chlo, Kralik is insane!”

 

“Are you saying I can’t take care of him myself?” Chloe’s tone was defiant. “Sometimes, all you’ll have at your disposal will be your brain and wit, Beca, and last time I checked I still had those!” she found herself unwittingly professing Aubrey’s speech to her.

 

“I just got you!” Beca bellowed and an astonishing silence filled the room. “I… I _just_ got you,” the brunette repeated, soft spoken. “And I can’t, I _won’t_ watch the people I love die in front of me again if I can do something about!”

 

Chloe dropped the crossbow she had just picked up on top of her bag and rushed to hug Beca; she knew what she was talking about. Memories of a tipsy Beca slightly opening up to her about her mother’s death filled her mind and the redhead doubled her hold on the brunette, feeling her clinging to her like a lifeline.

 

“I’m sorry, okay?” she muttered against the brunette hairline, kissing it softly. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just, I can’t ask you to do something like that for me.”

 

“You’re not,” Beca’s hoarse, emotional voice replied. “I’m offering. Besides,” she cleared her throat. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my time here in Sunnydale is that slaying might be a one person job, but it doesn’t have to.”

 

“She’s right, Cho,” Stacie agreed. “We’re _all_ here for you.”

 

“I’m still a bit unsure,” Chloe said, biting her lip nervously.

 

“Chloe,” Beca stated firmly. “ _We’re_ the Slayers. The Chosen Two or whatever. And there’s _no way in hell_ I’m letting you go there all alone.”

 

“Okay, fine,” she finally relented, closing and shouldering her bag and turning to look at Stacie. “Will you keep Aubrey from doing something stupid?”

 

“Like following you guys and getting herself killed?” the witch asked nonchalantly, receiving a matching pair of eyerolls in her direction. “You got it babes. Now let’s go!”

 

//

 

After teaming up to defeat Kralik — Beca’s proud smile beaming at her after she cleverly figured out a way to kill the lunatic vampire will forever be one of Chloe’s favorite mental pictures of the brunette — the girls dropped Mrs. Beale back home and headed back to the library since Stacie had texted to let them know ‘some old dude from the Council’ was waiting for them.

 

“Congratulations,” a guy who had introduced himself as John Smith said serenely. “You passed. You exhibited extraordinary courage and clearheadedness in battle. The Council is very pleased.”

 

“Do I get a gold star?” Chloe deadpanned.

 

John simply sighed, not bothered by the hostility. “I understand that you’re upset…”

 

“You understand _nothing_ ,” Chloe spat out with controlled fury. “You set that monster loose and he came after my mother.”

 

“You think the test was unfair?” John quirked an eyebrow at her.

 

“I think it’s better you leave town before I get my strength back,” the redhead narrowed her eyes at him.

 

“We’re not in the business of fair, Miss Beale,” John said condescendingly. “We’re fighting a war.”

 

“You’re _waging_ a war,” Aubrey, who had been watching the interaction from her office door, interceded, growling. “ _They’re_ fighting it,” she nodded towards both Slayers direction.

 

“Miss Posen, if you don’t mind....”

 

“The test is finished, John. We’re done,” the blonde stated curtly.

 

“Well, actually…” John continued in his patronizing tone. “Miss Beale passed. You didn’t,” he turned to her. “The Slayer’s not the only one who must perform in this situation. I've recommended to the Council, and they've agreed, that you be relieved of your duties as a Watcher immediately. You're fired.”

 

“On what grounds?” Aubrey looked taken aback, just like Chloe felt.

 

“Your affection for your charge has rendered you incapable of clear and impartial judgment,” Chloe looked over at Aubrey, trying to capture her reaction to the answer. “You have formed a… sisterly bond with her and that is useless to the cause,” Aubrey looked down, biting her bottom lip and Chloe felt tears threatening the leak out of her eyes. “It would be best if you had no further contact with the Slayer.”

 

Chloe turned back to look at John, heart beating wildly in the moment of silence.

 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Aubrey growled out in hostility and the redhead felt the knot of dread in her stomach dissolve.

 

“No, well, I didn't expect you would adhere to that,” John gave her an cynical smile. “However, if you interfere with the new Watcher, or countermand their authority in any way, you will be dealt with. Are we clear?”

  
  
“Oh, we're very clear,” Aubrey replied sarcastically.

 

“Congratulations again,” John bowed slightly to Chloe after gathering his briefcase to leave.

  
  
She looked up at him with a stare of hatred.

  
  
“Bite me,” the redhead said ferociously.

  
  
“Yes, well,” he laughed ruefully. “Colorful girl. Have a good night ladies,” he left, leaving Chloe, Beca, Stacie and Aubrey alone in the library.

 

Chloe looked around; those were three of the people she loved the most in her messed up, freaky world. And they were all still here, despite everything. She was hurting all over and the sudden rush of emotion was too much for her overworked body, so she did the only thing it could handle.

 

She cried.

 

//

 

Chloe stood against her kitchen island with Beca, making PB&J sandwiches for the impromptu gathering they had started. Stacie had come over with a huge jug of lemonade, Benji had brought sour gummy worms — Chloe’s favorites — and Jesse had brought popcorn and some movies. Even Aubrey had shown up, sheepish smile on her face as she handed over a tupperware containing still warm, gooey brownies.

 

“I still can’t believe you got fired, dude,” Beca laughed and Aubrey scowled at her. “How can miss Perfectionist Posen get fired?”

 

“Well, Beca, you see,” Aubrey said coolly. “I don’t always follow the rules.”

 

“How did you manage to kill Kralik?” Jesse asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet like a sugared up child.

 

“Oh, she was very clever,” Mrs. Beale smiled proudly, emerging from the freezer with ice for the lemonade. Chloe raised her eyebrow at her mother, but her smile didn’t diminish. “You go ahead and tell them, dear. You tell it better.”

 

Beca snorted out a laugh and Chloe elbowed her in the stomach, but laughed too. “Thank you mom.”

 

“Now, when you say ‘fired’, do you mean, like, really fired?” Benji asked, turning to Aubrey.

 

“We’re not cruising past that concept any time soon, are we?” the blonde sighed and Benji merely shrugged.

 

As a discussion emerged about how they could get Aubrey reinstated to her position as a Watcher, with suggestions going from ‘writing an angry letter’ to ‘send _them_ a criminally insane vampire and see how they like it’, Beca tugged on Chloe’s wrist for the redhead to follow her out of kitchen.

 

“What is it, Becs? We still have sandwiches to make,” she said as they stopped just by the stairs.

 

“I just wanted to give you the rest of your birthday present,” the brunette replied, tapping out her pants pockets looking for something. “Here,” she shoved two square pieces of paper on Chloe’s hand.

 

The redhead looked down and felt tears cloud her vision as she saw it was a couple of tickets for a Holiday On Ice show, two weeks from then, in Los Angeles.

 

“I thought we could make a roadtrip out of it?” Beca placed the statement as more of a question. “I know it’s something you usually do with your dad, but since that was a bust…”

 

Once again, Chloe felt the urge to end the brunette’s adorable ramble with a kiss, so she did.

 

“I’d love to, Beca,” she smiled, their lips still touching.

 

“Cool,” she felt the other girl smile too and kissed her once more. “I thought it’d be a nice thing for us to do as girlfriends.”

 

Chloe’s eyes widened and her heart started to beat erratically in her chest at Beca’s nonchalant acknowledgment.

 

“Girlfriends?” she whispered, as if afraid of jostling them out of the moment.

 

“Uhm, yeah?” Beca blushed fiercely, shrugging awkwardly, hands twitching on Chloe’s waist, but not leaving. “If you want to, I mean?”

 

“I’d _love_ to,” she repeated her previous statement, an even bigger smile stretching her lips widely.

 

There’s nothing she’d love more than to go everywhere as Beca Mitchell’s girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think! Or if you have any doubts about the lingo and stuff :)


End file.
